Mid-Grade 17” Wheel Choices

Hey guys,


I have been looking for a nice mid-range wheel to go with for the last couple years and haven’t come up with a lot of options for a monoblock 17” 5 spoke wheel that has some concavity to it like saleens or 03 cobra wheels.


I recently came across these forged wheels and added them to the small list of considerations.


RS45 | BC Forged North America


Let me know what you think and what color you like best for my Crystal white 98. The plan will be to go 17x9 & 17x 10.5.


Also, let me know if you know of any other nice wheel options.


Thanks!

That's a nice wheel and BC forged makes cool designs. It's ran by the guys from CCW when they got bought out by Weld.

Why not just get OEM 03 Cobra? 17x9 you can get a plenty wide enough tire and they look great and are cheap and quality is top end.

scottydsntknow said:

Why not just get OEM 03 Cobra? 17x9 you can get a plenty wide enough tire and they look great and are cheap and quality is top end.

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Because I don't want a heavy cast wheel. I'm all about lightweight everything.

Ideally, I would like to run 17x9 & 17x10.5 with 275 and 315 tires.

I've done the 315s in the back before but am worried about the 275s on the front especially with MM coilovers. And I don't want them sticking out. An OEM 03 cobra wheel (+26) with 275 tire sticks out of the fender a 1/2".

Does anyone that has done custom wheels have any recommendations? Is 275 do-able or will i be forced to go 255 or 265?

What offsets have you used?

ZD302GT said:

Ideally, I would like to run 17x9 & 17x10.5 with 275 and 315 tires.

I've done the 315s in the back before but am worried about the 275s on the front especially with MM coilovers. And I don't want them sticking out. An OEM 03 cobra wheel (+26) with 275 tire sticks out of the fender a 1/2".

Does anyone that has done custom wheels have any recommendations? Is 275 do-able or will i be forced to go 255 or 265?

What offsets have you used?

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I ran 265 and also 275 up front on my 98 with 18×9 Saleens. They were nice and flush with the fender.

98 svt said:

I ran 265 and also 275 up front on my 98 with 18×9 Saleens. They were nice and flush with the fender.

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Do you know the offset?

ZD302GT said:

Do you know the offset?

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30mm I think

Ended up going with the brushed clear BC Forged RS45 Wheels

I got 17x9 & 17x10.5 black Bullitt wheels w/ steel lip just because nothing says Ford like them...lots of Bullitt haters out there. I only regret getting the riveted versions.

If I did it again:
18x9 absolutely
Steel lipped all around...all four.
Fr500 style...black.

Probably 255-265 all around...
My car is set up more like a road racer anyway.

shurur said:

I got 17x9 & 17x10.5 black Bullitt wheels w/ steel lip just because nothing says Ford like them...lots of Bullitt haters out there. I only regret getting the riveted versions.

If I did it again:
18x9 absolutely
Steel lipped all around...all four.
Fr500 style...black.

Probably 255-265 all around...
My car is set up more like a road racer anyway.

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I had 17x8 & 17x10.5 Cobra Rs for 10 years. It was time for new tires so I wanted new wheels. Big weight savings going from Chrome cast wheels to cleared forged wheels.

Zach...post up some more pics if you have them. I'm really liking your choice! What size/make of tires did you go with?

Thanks! Tires are Toyo R888R
275/40/17
315/35/17

shurur said:

I got 17x9 & 17x10.5 black Bullitt wheels w/ steel lip just because nothing says Ford like them...lots of Bullitt haters out there. I only regret getting the riveted versions.

If I did it again:
18x9 absolutely
Steel lipped all around...all four.
Fr500 style...black.

Probably 255-265 all around...
My car is set up more like a road racer anyway.

Click to expand...

I have the same exact set up on my 94 Cobra for over 14 years now. They were “different and not the norm” years ago and in my area I was one of the few that had them on a SN95 when they first came out. The black against the Rio Red definitely “pops”. Now a days, the Bullitt style is ever so common, pretty much like the 1995 Cobra R’s were back in the day - meaning, everyone had them... everyone had the 95 Cobra R rims, everywhere.

The one issue with the staggered set is finding good prices on the fatty tires that makes them look so good once mounted. The wear/tear of having no ability to rotate figures into how soon the tires need replacing.

Over the last few years, I’ve found a liking back to the original SVT 94/95 rims. Maybe it’s because now there’s few and far between running the factory rims, or maybe it’s just the fact that everyone is running a similar black Bullitt setup, even on the newer S197’s and S550’s that it’s just getting “old”....

That doesn’t seem to be a problem in my area. SN95s are super rare and even new edges are hardly seen.

What offsets did you go with on those wheels? They look pretty good.

17x9 +30
17x10.5 +27

My car isn't symmetrical even with the K member squared and aligned. The driver side wheel fit perfectly but the passenger sat far outside the fender. It took moving the fender out and rolling the lip to get it to fit without rubbing. Rears are perfect, no rubbing when I took the springs out and let it sit on the bumpstops to test.

Holy smokes those are nice!! However, I would argue they're not a mid grade wheel.

Well, they arn't a Chinese cast wheel and they arn't an HRE or Forgeline so I deem them in the middle. (Taiwan forging)